The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for collecting and containing hydrocarbons that may be spilled or leaked by internal combustion engines. The instant method and apparatus further provide a variety of environmentally sound handling and disposal options for the accumulated hydrocarbons.
In a broad range of applications, there is a need to contain and remove contaminants that are spilled or leaked into the environment as part of the routine operation of motor vehicles and machinery powered by internal combustion engines that utilize liquid hydrocarbon products as fuels or lubricants. This critically important task is necessary to prevent pollution of the environment by spilled or leaked hydrocarbons that may flow downstream as wastewater runoff or seep into soil and contaminate an adjacent column of groundwater.
One common approach to the task of removing spilled or leaked liquid hydrocarbons is to utilize sorbent devices to absorb the contaminants. A wide variety of components, including cotton, peat moss, rice hulls and ground-up corn cobs are used to fabricate these devices. One such device relies on ground-up chicken feathers encased in a cotton pillow case.
The largest class of sorbent devices is typically comprised of a group of non-woven, petro-chemical based fabric materials having the physical properties of sorbing liquid hydrocarbons while repelling water. These devices are typically packaged as flat pads or cylindrical booms. Prior art absorbent devices of this type may allow liquid hydrocarbons to pass through the device and on to the surface where they are placed. The contaminants are then free to soak into the ground and pollute the soil or stain the surface beneath the source of the spill or leak, such as a driveway, street or road, with a film of liquid hydrocarbons. Liquid hydrocarbons absorbed by such devices are subject to release by gravity, column weight or outside forces exerting pressure on the devices as they are removed from a spill area. Disposal of these devices typically results in merely transferring substantial volumes of sorbed liquid hydrocarbon pollutants from one venue to another, where additional remediation activity is required.
Engines of motor vehicles, machinery and equipment are most likely to leak hydrocarbon fuels and lubricants when they are in operation. This is due to the elevated operating temperature, increased engine crankcase pressure, flow of fuels and lubricants and operation of a transmission while an engine is running. Fuels and lubricants that flow through a running engine may come in contact with loose-fitting gaskets, broken seals and leaking pumps, piping and other connections. Hydrocarbons may then seep through the cracks and fissures found in these seals and conduits and drip or leak on to the surface below the equipment.
Liquid hydrocarbons that may accumulate on the exterior of an engine or transmission of a piece of equipment may spill on to the surface below the equipment when the equipment is moving or when it is stationary. This can be demonstrated. A variety of establishments, such as fast food restaurants and banks, maintain drive-through windows that allow their customers to remain in their vehicles while transacting business. The driveway surfaces proximate these service windows are typically stained with a coat of hydrocarbon fuels and lubricants that have been emitted by vehicles that have parked adjacent the drive-up window. Similar driveway stains may be found at truck fueling depots, parking lots and other areas where vehicles operate with running engines.
On highways and streets, hydrocarbon stained roadway surfaces typically indicate an uneven road surface. Globules of hydrocarbons that may accumulate on the outer surfaces of an engine or transmission may become dislodged when a vehicle encounters a rough section of roadway and fall on to the road surface, staining the surface with a coat of hydrocarbons.
Overflow from fueling operations may spill directly on to the surface below a vehicle. Fuel overflow may also accumulate on the side of the equipment, along the conduit leading to the fuel tank from the fuel intake port and on the top and sides of the fuel tank. Spilled hydrocarbons may then be free to leak into the environment when a vehicle leaves a fueling depot.
In each instance, stains at drive-through windows and on driveways, parking lots and road surfaces may be caused by hydrocarbon spills and leaks. When hydrocarbon droplets are of a sufficient weight, or become dislodged by the bumping or bouncing motion of a vehicle, they may detach from the equipment and stain the surface below it.
Significant amounts of water may accumulate in the bilge of a marine vessel from deck washing procedures, leaking stuffing boxes where the drive shaft of an engine extends through the hull of the vessel or sea water that may splash on to the deck of the vessel. Bilge water must be treated before it can be pumped out of the vessel and discharged into the environment.
Hydrocarbon fuel, lubricant and transmission leaks on marine vessels often find their way into the bilge of the vessel with the accumulated water. Bilge water containing fuel, oil and other hydrocarbons may also come in contact with soaps and detergents used in deck washing and equipment cleaning operations, with the soap typically creating a chemical emulsion of the hydrocarbons that come in contact with the surfactant.
Emulsified oil may not be readily extracted from bilge water by on board oil/water separation devices utilizing gravity separation and coalescing methods to remove oil from water. Further, the prior art devices are usually ineffective in removing hydrocarbons from the bilge of a vessel because they typically float on the surface of the bilge water and may not come in contact with emulsified hydrocarbons found throughout the water column. Thus, on board separation equipment and sorbent devices may not be capable of treating bilge water containing emulsified hydrocarbons to an acceptable quality for discharge into the environment. This results in an additional expense to the vessel operator when the soapy, oily bilge water is pumped to a dockside treatment facility for proper disposal.
Placement of the prior art sorbent devices in close proximity to a running engine may result in the non-woven textile devices melting and losing their structural integrity due to the elevated operating temperature of the engine.
Thus, hydrocarbon spills and leaks of internal combustion engines, fuel tanks and transmissions may create environmental problems that may not be readily solved by utilization of the prior art devices.